The world's second-biggest mobile phone company revealed six countries don't need any legal ruling to snoop on the conversations of its customers

Hold the phone: Britain makes hundreds of thousands of requests to listen in to calls (Photo: Getty / Vodaphone)

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Vodafone admits government agencies use its network to listen to and record customers' calls - with no paperwork whatsoever.

In a worrying report that lifts the lid the true extent of security service snooping, the world's second-biggest mobile phone company revealed six unidentified countries do not require permission or legal notices to tap into mobile conversations.

Bosses said in its "Disclosure Report" on Friday that countries in its reach are using similar practices, which has 400 million customers in countries across Europe, Africa and Asia,

A spokesperson said: "In a small number of countries the law dictates that specific agencies and authorities must have direct access to an operator's network, bypassing any form of operational control over lawful interception on the part of the operator."

Vodafone did not name the six for legal reasons. It added that in Albania, Egypt, Hungary, India, Malta, Qatar, Romania, South Africa and Turkey it could not disclose any information related to wiretapping or interception.

The Vodafone report, which is incomplete because many governments will not allow it to disclose requests, also linked to already-published national data which showed Britain and Australia making hundreds of thousands of requests.

It showed that of the countries in which it operates, EU member Italy made the most requests for communication data.

Germany, which expressed outrage when it was revealed last year that U.S. intelligence services had listened into the calls of Angela Merkel, also made requests to listen in to conversations and collect the data around them, such as where the calls were made and how long they lasted.

Vodafone received no requests from the government of the United States because it does not have an operating licence there.